Ron's Little Keeper
by Ginger Lust
Summary: Ron fought intolerance at school from day one. But he persevered. Ron fought Voldemort at Harry's and Hermione's side. And won with honors. Now Ron faces his biggest challenge in his young life. His newborn daughter. Will she be the one to take him down.


A/N- This piece is pure fluff. Silly and I hope fun. This is my version of one day with Ron and his first born, Rose. Unfortunately, I'm not British and don't 'do' Brit-speak well.  
The 15+ rating is because I don't know how readers might take this as I refer to breast feeding, although there is only talk of it, not the act of.

 **I do not own the nursery rhyme Itsy, Bitsy Spider.** **I've looked extensively for the author of the children's song 'Itsy, Bitsy Spider' online. The sites claim... I quote- "The history and origin of the Itsy Bitsy spider rhyme cannot be traced, it is believed just to be a fun finger rhyme that has survived the test of time."**  
I own nothing... not Harry Potter, Ron or even my car!

Ron's Little Keeper

Hermione and Ginny were taking turns holding the crying Rose. The seven month old baby was very colicky and suffering from stomach pain.

Hermione looked tired and worn out. She had been up since two in the morning with Rose. Finally, at about eight thirty, she owled Molly for help. She was pretty sure that the more experienced witch would have a remedy, having had seven children. And thank Merlin, she did.

Molly owled Hermione back, telling the new mother that she would run to the apothecary to pick up a few items she no longer had but needed to make the potion. Oh, and she was bringing Ginny along also.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. It upset her to hear Rose crying so. She felt drained from the stress and being up so long without rest. That night, Hermione had taken Rose downstairs to the kitchen, she didn't want to wake Ron. He had to be to work by five AM. He woke at four, showered and dressed then went downstairs into the kitchen where Hermione and Rose were, taking the baby from her arms. By the time he sat down at the table, Rose stopped seemed to have a magic touch with his daughter, could get her to stop crying just by holding her. And talking to her. And, to Hermione's amazement, when he sang to her. He had a soft, soothing and actually, lovely singing voice.

Ron lay Rose on his lap, cradled on each side by his legs. His left hand was under her, holding up her tiny head as he softly sang to her and rubbed her bare belly. She seemed mesmerized and now content, Hermione thought as she watched them from the door. She listened to the song Ron sang. 'Itsy, Bitsy.. Doxy'. Hermione had taught the muggle lullaby from her own upbringing to Ron. But the young wizard insisted on changing some of the lyrics to some he recalled from his own childhood.

 _"The itsy-bitsy doxy climbed up the water sprout._

 _Down came the Doxycide and knocked the doxy out._

 _Out came the sun and dried up all the poison_

 _So we cooked up some eggs and bitsy Doxy bacon"._

AN- ( a Doxy is a fairy-like creature covered with black hair. It has small venomous teeth and are considered pest. They infest homes like mice. - the HP Lexicon)

Hermione quietly laughed to herself.

'Well…' she thought to herself. 'Didn't say he was a song writer!'

Ron sang another one after that. One his mum sang to him, that one a wizard lullaby.

Finally, Rose fell asleep. Ron stood up and walked over to Hermione.

"I've got to get going." He said as he placed Rose into Hermione's arms.

"Hopefully, she'll sleep a few hours so you can too… love you." He leaned over and kissed Hermione and turned to leave.

"Ron, you didn't have anything to eat."

"That's alright. I'll stop by Mum's and grab something there. She always cooks enough for an army… even though I'm not there anymore!" Ron chuckled at his own joke. But the smile faded when he saw Hermione frown.

"What's the matter, love?"

"I'm a horrible wife. I can't even take care of my own husband!"

"No you're not. Hermione, you always make me breakfast… except when Rose is sick. Besides… Harry and I drop Ginny and the boys off at the Burrow almost every morning. And Mum forces me to eat even after I've had a full meal here… In fact, I should just quit eating here… I'm going to get bloody fat!" Ron said as he slapped his belly.

"But… what about lunch?"

Ron raised his hand to stroke her cheek.

"I'm a big boy, Love. I can take care of myself. You have enough to worry about… And by the way… you're the best wife I've ever had, Mione!"

Once again he kissed her and then baby Rose ever so gently on her forehead before turning to leave.

"Ron."

Ron turned back to face her again.

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to ask your Mum if she's not busy tonight, if she can watch Rose for us, so we can have a dinner together… alone!"

Ron smiled.

"Brilliant!" Then he placed his hand behind Hermione's head and pulled her to him. This time, he kissed her a little longer, showing her exactly what he thought about tonight's dinner alone together. He smiled at her again when he pulled away, dropping his hand slowly along her neck then pulling the material of her nightshirt outward from her chest. He winked at her after looking down her shirt. "Just lovely!"

"Ron, you do know that they go back to normal once I stop nursing, right?"

"And normal is perfectly fine. But I'm going to enjoy them while they're boulders, thank you very much!"

Hermione chuckled, her smile brightening her tired face a bit. "..they are not boulders..."

"I'll be the judge of that!..."

Hermione chuckled, her smile brightening her tired face a bit.

Ron turned once more, this time walking out of the kitchen, to their chimney and after grabbing a handful of blue powder from a bowl, flooed to the Ministry.

Unfortunately, not ten minutes later, Rose was awake and crying again. Hermione tried everything she could think of to console Rose. Feeding her, rocking her, walking her for hours until she was exhausted. She was ready to cry herself. She even thought about calling Ron to come home. But she had decided to owl Molly first. The older witch would most certainly know what to do.

After that, Hermione owled the Ministry to say she wouldn't be in today.

Now it was almost twelve noon and Hermione and Ginny were trying to soothe baby Rose. Molly was in the kitchen just finishing up the potion.

James, almost a year and a half old and Albus, about 10 months old himself, were in the living room in a playpen asleep. They had been fed and put down for a nap.

Just about that time, Ron walked into the house. Hermione was on the couch, sitting but slumped over, her head on the arm, practically falling asleep.

Ginny was walking back and forth with Rose in her arms still crying.  
Ron acknowledged Hermione with a "Hi love", then headed straight to Ginny.

"Hey Sis. Mum here?" he asked as he took Rose.

"Yeah… she's in the kitchen, cooking up the potion that'll make Rose feel better. She's been crying all morning now."

"Thanks Ginny. Hermione's been up all night. I should have stayed home. But Rose was asleep when I left… How's the boys?" Ron asked as he looked at them in the playpen, gently bouncing Rose up and down in his arms. He looked down at the baby, her face red and tears falling down her pudgy cheeks. He coo-ed to her as he listened to Ginny.

Rose didn't cry as hard now, hiccupping more as she watched Ron smiled at her.

"They're fine. Tired themselves out then fell asleep. But I know what's it's like with a colicky baby. Thank Merlin for Mum… I AM NOT HAVING ANY MORE BABIES! How Mum did it with seven, I will never know."

"Yeah, it's a miracle we turned out OK."

"Well, some of us did!" Ginny sent a teasing smirk at her brother.

Ron chuckled. "OH don't say that, Ginny. You turned out OK… Blimey, you even manage to convince a man to marry you! 'Course,... Harry was never very bright, yeah?!"

Ginny chuckled back as Ron turned and walked over to a comfortable lounger just across from the couch. She walked over and sat down next to Hermione.

"That's my big girl… what's wrong tweetie, does your tummy hurt? My poor baby. Granny's here to save the day. Don't cry…" he started singing one of his revised nursery rhythms.

Ginny stared at Ron. Rose was quiet now except an occasional hiccup. Then she turned to look at Hermione.

"I know….But she always stops crying for him. It must be in his voice."

Ron continued to sing to Rose as he rocked back and forth. His own version of a children's rhythm, replacing each muggle item with wizarding ones... "..if 'this' one didn't shine or work, then daddy's gonna buy you a 'that' one! When he had hit the sixth or seventh line, Ginny covered her ears.

"...OK! OK! STOP! No more...PLEASE!"

Just in the nick of time, Molly walked into the room, carrying a pink baby's bottle of milk and a bowl with a dark liquid and multi-tablespoon sized dropper in it.

"Ron?" She was surprised to see him.

"Hi Mum. Came home for lunch. I thought Hermione might need some rest. But I see you guys have everything well in hand."

Molly stared at Ron and Rose, a perplexed look on her face.

"WE... have everything in hand? This is the first time she's been quiet since I got here. What did you do to her, Ron?"

"Nothing. She just wanted her dada, that's all" Ron spoke to Rose in that odd baby talk people used when talking to a baby, his lips puckered up tight.

"…well, dada's here now. You don't have to 'ki' anymore. No sirree… I'm right here…coddy poochy coo coo…" The rest was just plain drivel.

Molly turned and looked at Hermione then Ginny. And the two younger women looked at each other then back to Molly.

Hermione sat up straight, crossed her arms and then laid out her right arm, pointing to Ron. She looked at Ginny then Molly, in a gesture of 'are you seeing this?'

Well, they could laugh at Ron all they wanted, but he managed to get Rose to stop crying where they couldn't.

However, Rose was still in pain and it showed on her little face.

Molly placed the two items on the end table next to Ron. She bent over and filled the dropper completely with the potion, then handed it to Ron. She straightened up again and placed her hands on her hips.

"OK Ron… She has to drink up this dropper full.. completely. That's the hard part. Babies hate the taste of this but it will work quickly once she's got it down. Don't worry if she spits it out the first few tries, there's plenty."

Ron looked at the dropper for a moment. He made sure that Rose was secure on his lap then reached down and picked up the bottle of milk with his other hand. He raised the dropper above his mouth, stuck his tongue out and positioned the dropper just above it.

"WHAT are you doing?!" Molly asked him.

"Well, she may take it easier if she sees me taking it first."

The look on Molly's face was priceless.

"OK Rosie my love… see this? We have to drink it alllllll down if we're going to get better. Make that 'auky' tummy ache go away…" Ron spoke to Rose, using the baby talk again. Then he raised his head, stuck out his tongue and let a drop fall from the dropper. He closed his mouth then his face scrunched up almost painfully.

"YUCK! This is awful!" Then he quickly took the bottle of milk and inserted it into his mouth.

The looks on Molly's and Ginny's faces made Hermione laugh out loud. She was used to Ron's odd behavior when he had the baby.

"RON! Are you losing your…." Molly started to say.

Suddenly, Rose laughed.

Molly took a step back.

Ron pulled the bottle from his mouth and smiled at Rose.

"I know sweetie. We like the milky, don't we? Mmmmmmm. Good milky…"

Molly moved towards the girls and sat down on the couch between them.

Ginny leaned over, across Molly's lap and asked Hermione a question.

"Does he know that that is your breast milk?"

"Yes, of course….from a bottle or straight from the.. 'factory'. He loves it! " Hermione was having too much fun to be embarrassed telling them that Ron had tried her milk first hand.

The look on their faces…. Well, Hermione just wished she had a camera right now.

"I think it's more the packaging that it comes in, Hermione!" Ginny said, never taking her eyes off Ron.

"Sit there and tell me Harry's never tried yours!"

"OK, he has... but he doesn't like it. For him, IT IS the 'packaging'."

Hermione chuckled.

Ron, attention only on Rose, continued talking to her.

"OK Sweetie… it's your turn now. Come on… open up…"

He gently slid the dropper into Rose's mouth and squeezed out about half of the dropper. But as soon as she tasted it, Rose scrunched up her face, turned her head and started crying, trying to spit out the nasty solution at the same time.

Ron quickly raised Rose up to an almost sitting position and offered her the bottle which she took immediately and began to suckle.

"There… see? I told you it wasn't so bad. Mommy's milk is the best, isn't it?"

The stunned looks on Molly's and Ginny's faces made Hermione jiggle with held in laughter.

"I never wanted him more than I do right now!" Hermione whispered.

But Ginny and Molly heard her. They looked at each other.

MENTAL! The both of them! No wonder they get on so well!

"OK now… we have to do it again sweetums. Just watch daddy now…" Ron looked at the dropper again, his face already showing his distaste. But he faithfully raised his head, stuck out his tongue and dropped a drop onto it.

Once again, his face showed how terrible the potion tasted, though he exaggerated the look for Rose.

And once again, Rose laughed.

Ron gently took the bottle from Rose and sucked on it a couple times.

"Ug… that is truly awful stuff. Yuck.. yuck.." Ron said, smiling as he  
lowered the dropper towards Rose's mouth.

Molly and Ginny watched dumbfounded. Rose saw the dropper coming toward her but didn't turn her head away. She didn't open her mouth to accept it but she didn't fight Ron as he slipped it into her mouth.

Ron squeezed out the rest of the potion and pulled the dropper out immediately, throwing it to the table near the bowl. Again, Rose's face showed her disgust at the taste but she didn't cry this time. She merely raised her hands up, reaching for the bottle, which Ron quickly gave her.

Ron watched Rose quietly drink as she watched him back. She reached up again and grabbed on to one of his fingers that held the bottle.

Ron smiled uncontrollable as he felt such an ache in his chest. He loved Rose so much. Except for Hermione, he had never felt so great a love for another human being as he did for his Rose. It still amazed him that he was elemental in creating this beautiful, perfect bundle from heaven. And she was his child. She was the best thing that ever happened to him.

Rose began to kick her legs back and forth against Ron's stomach. She smiled and let the bottle fall off to the side of the chair. Ron caught it and placed it onto the table. Then he lifted Rose onto her feet and she continued to kick up and down on his legs.

Ron raised Rose up to his face and kissed her on her cheek, holding her there for a moment.

"That's my big girl. You are such a brave little witch. 100 points to Gryffindor!.. And look how much better you feel now. Ready to go out to the pitch and throw a few to daddy?... Oh yeah… Mummy won't let me buy you a broom." Ron frowned and lowered his voice. "She's a mean old mummy, isn't she?"

Ron brought Rose up to his face again and whispered into her ear.

"That's OK Rosie. I've already bought you a broom. I hid it in the attic. I'll take you up there as soon as we can get rid of Mummy!"

"Ron! What are you telling her?" Hermione asked, with a slight tremble in her voice.

"Nothing.. nothing. Just…" Ron stopped talking when he turned to looked at Hermione and saw all three of the women sitting there with tears in their eyes. Hermione's and Molly's tears had already fallen.

"Wha…Why are you crying? She's fine now. Look! Stop worrying!"

"We're not crying. We're just happy that she's feeling better."  
Hermione lied, wiping her eyes as were Molly and Ginny.

"Women!"

Hermione turned to Molly.

"Mum. Is there any chance you're free tonight? We would love to go out to dinner tonight….alone."

"Out? Mione, I thought you said dinner here and then…. Oh… right.. never mind!"

"Subtle Ron!... Have you been drinking too much of Rosie's milky?" Ginny asked in a sing-sing voice.

"Shut it, Ginny… Don't listen to your Auntie Ginny, Rosie…. She's just jealwuus.. cause you give me some of your milky and not her!"

"Are you sure Rosiewosie…" Ginny used the same baby talk Ron had. ".. can survive without her daddydoodoo for that long?"

"See sweetheart… she's just so wealwuus."

'Merlin, Harry should see this!' Ginny thought to herself.

"Ah Oh… I think I smell 'tomething'. Did you make a poo poo little Princess. Well, never mind… We'll go upstairs, get you allllllll cleaned up then… yes we will."

Ginny rolled her eyes.

Ron got up from the lounger with Rose in his arms.

Hermione started to get up also, to take Rose from Ron.

"No. I've got this Hermione. Just relax."

Hermione sat back down.

"Isn't he wonderful?"

"Yeah…. Who 'da thunk!" Ginny threw in her two cents worth.

Less than five minutes later, Ron came down the stairs with Rose, wearing a fresh nappie and a clean top.

"I think she's hungry now, Mione. Do you have another bottle ready… or….?" Ron didn't complete his sentence.

"There's one last fresh one in the frig. I'll nurse her tonight."

Ron walked into the kitchen still carrying Rose. He opened the fridge and grabbed the first bottle he saw. Actually, there were two there. He closed the fridge and placed the bottle on the counter next to the sink.

Ron pulled out his wand from his back pocket with his free hand. Then he pointed it to the bottle and spoke the incantation that heated the milk inside quickly.

When done, in mere seconds, he put his wand away, lifted the bottle and looked at Rose. She was in his left arm so he couldn't pour out a few drops on his wrist to test how hot the milk had become.

'Well… no problem.' He thought. He raised the bottle up just to his mouth, opened wide and squirted twice.

Just right!

"RON! NO!..." Ginny stopped dead in her track when she entered the kitchen.

Ron lowered the bottle.

"What?!.. I was just testing to see if it was too hot. I couldn't test it on my arm…" He lifted Rose a little to show Ginny that his arm was covered and couldn't be used to test the milk.

"No Ron…" Ginny raised her hand to the bottle.

"Blue bottle… blue for boys… Albus's bottle…THAT'S MY BREAST MILK!"

FIN


End file.
